Barber: This could get worse
Brendan Barber, TUC general secretary, comments on unemployment figures:
“Today’s grim jobless figures show that rising unemployment is more than an Autumn blip, and that it could get much worse in 2011.
“With more than a fifth of young people out of work, we face a real danger of losing another generation of young people to unemployment and wasted ambition.
“By abolishing EMA, pricing young people out of university and cutting support to get them back into work, the government is punishing youngsters for a mess they didn’ cause.
“Employment is now falling at its fastest rate since the recession and many of those finding work are settling for insecure temporary work.
“With the worst of the cuts still to come, this government risks making high joblessness a permanent feature of our economy. It must change course before it’s too late.”
